1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to novel gaming devices, novel gaming processes and novel games and game apparatus associated with card table games. In some casino games, predetermined events at the table (such as achieving a blackjack) trigger bonus segments. A microprocessor driven system is used to support the bonus feature.
2. Background of the Art
Games of chance have been enjoyed by people for thousands of years and have enjoyed increased and widespread popularity in recent times. As with most forms of entertainment, players enjoy playing a wide variety of casino games and enjoy learning to play new games. Playing new games adds to the excitement of xe2x80x9cgaming.xe2x80x9d As is well known in the art and as used herein, the term xe2x80x9cgamingxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cgaming devicesxe2x80x9d are used to indicate that some form of wagering is involved, and that players must make wagers of value, whether actual currency or some equivalent of value, e.g., token or credit. Table games are those gaming systems where players at a physical table engage in the play of a wagering game, usually with a dealer (directly involved in the play of a wagering game) or a house representative (not involved in actual play, but directing the play of a wagering game). Cards, either a standard playing card deck, multiple standard decks, modified decks, or specialty decks are generally used in the play of casino table games such as casino table card games.
A particularly popular casino table game is twenty-one. As outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,492 (LeVasseur), conventional twenty-one is played in most casinos and involves a game of chance between a dealer and one or more players using a standard deck or multiple decks of playing cards. The object is for the player to achieve a count of his hand closer to 21 than the count of the hand of the dealer. If the count of the player""s hand goes over 21 then the player loses regardless of the final count of the dealer""s hand.
At least one standard deck of playing cards is used to play the game. The game is most commonly dealt as a multiple deck game. Each card counts as its face value, except aces, which have a value of one or eleven as is most beneficial to the count of the hand. Each player initially receives two cards. The dealer also receives two cards. One of the dealer""s cards usually is dealt face down and the other of the dealer""s cards is dealt face up.
A player may draw additional cards (take xe2x80x9chitsxe2x80x9d) in order to try and beat the ultimate count of the dealer""s hand or to remain in play when a dealer exceeds a count of twenty-one (known as xe2x80x9cbustingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbreakingxe2x80x9d). If the player""s count exceeds 21, the player xe2x80x9cbusts.xe2x80x9d Similarly, if the dealer""s count exceeds 21, the dealer busts. The player may xe2x80x9cstandxe2x80x9d on any count of 21 or less. When a player busts, he loses his wager regardless of whether or not the dealer busts. After all of the players have taken hits or stood on their hand, the dealer xe2x80x9cstandsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chitsxe2x80x9d based on pre-established rules for the game. Typically, if the dealer has less than 17, the dealer must take a hit. If the dealer has 17 or more, the dealer stands.
After the dealer""s final hand has been established, the numerical count of the dealer""s hand is compared to the numerical count of the player""s hand. If the dealer busts, the player wins regardless of the numerical count of his hand. If neither the player nor the dealer have busted, the closest hand to numerical count of 21, without going over, wins; tie hands are a xe2x80x9cpush.xe2x80x9d
As used in the preceding description and in this disclosure, the terms xe2x80x9cconventional twenty-onexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cthe conventional manner of play of twenty-onexe2x80x9d mean the game of twenty-one as described herein and also including any of the known variations of the game of twenty-one. There are many such variations, such as removal of specific value cards, addition of wild cards, bonuses for consecutive blackjacks, bonuses for suited blackjacks, automatic wins with at least six cards in a players hand, wins for xe2x80x98five-card straightsxe2x80x99 in a player""s cards, and the like.
Twenty-one has remained remarkably popular and unchanged over the years. Because of its popularity, the rapidity of play, and the need to reduce or eliminate card counting by players, twenty-one is usually played with multiple decks of cards that are frequently shuffled.
Other casino table card games include Let It Ride(copyright) stud poker (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081, a playing card wagering game method which involves each player placing a three part bet. Cards are dealt by the dealer, two face down to the dealer and three face down to each player. Players inspect or xe2x80x9csweatxe2x80x9d their cards and the dealer gives each player the choice of withdrawing or leaving at risk a first part of the bet. Each player decides and the dealer then turns over one of the cards and again gives each player the choice of withdrawing or leaving the second part of the bet. The players decide, their cards are shown, and all remaining bets, which were not withdrawn, are resolved.); Caribbean Stud(copyright) poker (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,86,553, a card game in which a player and a dealer are each dealt five cards. If the dealer has a poker hand having a value less than Ace-King combination or better, the player automatically wins. If the dealer has a poker hand having a value of an Ace-King combination or better, then the higher of the player""s or the dealer""s hand wins. If the player wins, he receives a bonus payment depending on the poker rank of his hand.); and Pai Gow poker (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,411 in association with a unique card shuffling and dealing system). Although both Let It Ride(copyright) stud poker and Caribbean Stud(copyright) poker have the potential for the award of bonuses, these bonuses are directly dependent upon the occurrence of hands of very high rank to a player.
One popular game of chance is the slot machine. Conventionally, a slot machine is configured for a player to wager something of value, e.g., currency, house token, established credit or other representation of currency or credit. After the wager has been made, the player activates the slot machine to cause a random event to occur. The player wagers that particular random events will occur that will return value to the player. A standard device causes a plurality of reels to spin and ultimately stop, displaying a random combination of some form of indicia, for example, numbers or symbols. If this display contains one of a preselected plurality of winning combinations, the machine releases money into a payout chute or increments a credit meter by the amount won by the player. For example, if a player initially wagered two coins of a specific denomination and that player achieved a payout, that player may receive the same number or multiples of the wager amount in coins of the same denomination as wagered.
There are many different formats for generating the random display of events that can occur to determine payouts in wagering devices. The standard or original format was the use of three reels with symbols distributed over the face of the wheel. When the three reels were spun, they would eventually each stop in turn, displaying a combination of three three symbols (e.g., with three wheels and the use of a single payout line as a row in the middle of the area where the symbols are displayed. By appropriately distributing and varying the symbols on each of the reels, the random occurrence of predetermined winning combinations can be provided in mathematically predetermined probabilities. By clearly providing for specific probabilities for each of the preselected winning outcomes, precise odds that would control the amount of the payout for any particular combination and the percentage return on wagers for the house could be readily controlled.
Other formats of gaming apparatus that have developed in a progression from the pure slot machine with three reels have dramatically increased with the development of video gaming apparatus. Rather than have only mechanical elements such as wheels or reels that turn and stop to randomly display symbols, video gaming apparatus and the rapidly increasing sophistication in hardware and software have enabled an explosion of new and exciting gaming apparatus. The earlier video apparatus merely imitated or simulated the mechanical slot games in the belief that players would want to play only the same games. Early video games therefore were simulated slot machines. The use of video gaming apparatus to play new games such as draw poker and Keno broke the ground for the realization that there were many untapped formats for gaming apparatus.
Now casinos may have hundreds of different types of gaming apparatus with an equal number of significant differences in play. The apparatus may vary from traditional three reel slot machines with a single payout line, reel slot machines with bonus features (such as Wheel of Fortune(copyright)) video simulations of three reel video slot machines, to five reel, five column simulated slot machines with a choice of twenty or more distinct paylines, including randomly placed lines, scatter pays, or single image payouts.
In addition to the variation in formats for the play of games, bonus plays, bonus awards, and progressive jackpots have been introduced with great success. The bonuses may be associated with the play of games that are quite distinct from the play of the original game, such as the video display of a horse race with xe2x80x9cbetsxe2x80x9d on the individual horses randomly assigned to players that qualify for a bonus, the spinning of a random wheel with fixed amounts of a bonus payout on the wheel (or simulation thereof), or attempting to select a random card that is of higher value than a card exposed on behalf of a virtual dealer.
Examples of such gaming apparatus with a distinct bonus feature includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,874; 5,848,932; 5,836,041; U.K. Patent Nos. 2 201 821 A; 2 202 984 A; and 2 072 395A; and German Patent DE 40 14 477 A1. Each of these patents differ in fairly subtle ways as to the manner in which the bonus round is played. British patent 2 201 821 A and DE 37 00 861 A1 describe a gaming apparatus in which after a winning outcome is first achieved in a reel-type gaming segment, a second segment is engaged to determine the amount of money or extra games awarded. The second segment gaming play involves a spinning wheel with awards listed thereon (e.g., the number of coins or number of extra plays) and a spinning arrow that will point to segments of the wheel with the values of the awards thereon. A player will press a stop button and the arrow will point to one of the values. The specification indicates both that there is a level of skill possibly involved in the stopping of the wheel and the arrow(s), and also that an associated computer operates the random selection of the rotatable numbers and determines the results in the additional winning game, which indicates some level of random selection in the second gaming segment.
U.K. Patent No. 2 202 984 A describes a slot machine in which when a player has not won a prize in the basic game (that in itself is a randomly determined event), there is the possibility of winning a prize in a complementary game of chance, such as a lottery where numbered balls are removed from a rotating drum device.
U.K. Patent No. 2 072 395 A describes a gaming or amusement machine having a spinning reel device and a video screen on which a video game may be displayed. A play on the video game may be an award for winning events on the reels.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,874 and 5,848,932 describe a gaming device comprising: a first, standard gaming unit for displaying a randomly selected combination of indicia, said displayed indicia selected from the group consisting of reels, indicia of reels, indicia of playing cards, and combinations thereof; means for generating at least one signal corresponding to at least one select display of indicia by said first, standard gaming unit; means for providing at least one discernible indicia of a mechanical bonus indicator, said discernible indicia indicating at least one of a plurality of possible bonuses, wherein said providing means is operatively connected to said first, standard gaming unit and becomes actuatable in response to said signal. In effect, the second gaming event simulates a mechanical bonus indicator such as a roulette wheel or wheel with a pointing element.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,696 makes an advance in combined gaming technology by providing a video display in conjunction with a physical casino table card game as a separate game. A side game with potential wagering is provided along with an underlying game. The side game may include the use of symbols or cards or card figures, and may be played live, on video gaming apparatus, or with a combination of live play and various display means, including, but not limited to, cathode ray tubes (monitors), light-emitting diodes (LED""s), Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD""s), plasma displays and other video gaming displays. A method of playing both an underlying game and a side bet game has the steps of: a) playing an underlying game in which at least two cards are received and at least two cards are kept by a player at the end of an underlying game and at least one wager is placed by the player on the underlying game, b) a player placing a wager on a side bet game, c) providing to the view of the player at least two randomly generated cards which become a part of the side bet game, d) comparing the at least two cards kept at the end of the underlying game to the at least two randomly generated cards which become part of the side bet game, and e) determining a level of correspondence between the at least two cards kept at the end of the underlying game and the at least two randomly generated cards which become part of the side bet game. Wagers may be placed at any time before, during or after play of the underlying game.
To increase the excitement and entertainment of the player and to offer new games to the player, side bet games have been developed, both for live gaming and for video gaming. In some situations, awards for the side bet games may be independent of the rank of the dealt hand in the primary game. A common feature in some poker games is the addition of a progressive jackpot, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,041; 5,377,973; 5,584,485; and 5,626,341 and specifically to games of Twenty-One in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,077; 5,364,105; and 5,577,731. These patents generally show that a progressive, and possibly much higher value jackpot, may be won by a player by making a separate and independent wager at the beginning of the primary game (before cards are dealt). This separate wager is won if predetermined arrangements of cards, such as certain poker hands of rated value (usually at least three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush and royal flush), are achieved in the play of the hand. The highest progressive jackpot value is usually won when the player obtains a royal flush, either with the cards in a specific order (e.g., A K Q J 10, also referred to as a xe2x80x9cpositional winxe2x80x9d) or in a random order (e.g., with the cards A K Q J 10 appearing in any arrangement or order). With the separate bet being placed, the jackpot or special award for the player achieving a rated (higher value) hand is paid in addition to awards won in the play of the primary game. This separate wager, however, is still won only when the player exhibits a hand with a relatively high poker value. A predetermined arrangement of cards which is independent of play in the underlying game could be, for example, a rank of a poker hand achieved in the play of a hand of Twenty-One, four aces in a Twenty-One game, or a Twenty-One point count total achieved in a poker hand. An example of a predetermined arrangement of cards which is dependent upon play of the underlying game could be, for example, specific ranks of poker hands (e.g., four-of-a-kind or straight flush) achieved during play of an underlying poker game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,998 describes a complex system of blackjack play using an adjunct computing system for playing a card game involving a dealer and at least one player. The method includes the step of establishing a predetermined player jackpot tally event wherein said predetermined player jackpot tally event is a predetermined outcome of a player""s card hand. The method includes establishing a predetermined dealer bust event wherein said predetermined dealer bust event is a predetermined outcome of a dealer""s card hand; providing a player jackpot tally event status display for each player comprising a numeric LED readout visible to all players and the dealer and providing a dealer bust event status display. The display includes a numeric LED readout visible to all players and the dealer. The method further includes starting a round of play by dealing a card hand to each player and to the dealer; determining whether a player jackpot tally event has occurred for each player and determining whether a dealer bust event has occurred for the dealer. The player""s player jackpot tally event is incremented if said player""s card hand is a predetermined player jackpot tally event. The method includes the step of incrementing said dealer bust event display if said dealer""s card hand is a predetermined dealer bust event; continuing another round of play and incrementing each player jackpot tally event display and dealer bust event display as recited above. While continuous rounds are played, players are rewarded when their player jackpot tally event display has exceeded a predetermined player jackpot tally event threshold. All players are rewarded if said dealer bust event display has exceeded a predetermined dealer bust event threshold. The player jackpot tally event display is zeroed when the associated player""s card hand does not increment the player""s said jackpot tally event display. The method also includes zeroing said dealer jackpot tally event display when the dealer""s card hand did not increment said dealer bust event display.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,270 describes an apparatus for playing a game consisting of an auxiliary prize game played along with a principal casino game played by a dealer and a plurality of players seated at a plurality of player positions at a casino gaming table. The players possess a number of gaming symbols as a result of playing said principal casino game. The apparatus includes an input device generating a game state signal in response to a dealer command input and a random selector generating at random a value representing a set of said player positions. The set of player positions consists of at least one of none, some and all of said player positions; and a selection indicator indicating based on said value and in response to said state signal ones of said player positions having been selected. Players enjoy an extra random component in the determination of winnings in the auxiliary prize game.
There are currently a number of commercially available blackjack games with side bet opportunities. One such game is called Wheel of Madness(trademark). The player makes a mandatory bet on the blackjack game, and optionally places a bonus bet on the occurrence of a blackjack. If the player obtains a blackjack, the dealer spins a wheel. The amount displayed on the wheel determines the payout.
In a game recently introduced by Mikohn Gaming in Las Vegas, Nev., a live casino blackjack game is equipped with a Monopoly(copyright) side bet apparatus and feature. The side bet feature is a video display bearing a visual representation of a Monopoly(copyright) game board. If the player has made the optional side bet and receives a blackjack, a video representation of a train moves around the outside of the board, slowly reducing its speed until the front of the train stops at one of the board locations, designating the selected location. Each location bears a payout multiplier. The amount wagered on the side bet game times the multiplier defines the bonus payout.
Since it is desirable to offer players games that they have not played before, it would be desirable to provide new games with new additional opportunities to receive winning payouts.
The present invention is a live casino game equipped with a separate gaming apparatus capable of determining outcomes of an auxiliary side bet game. In one example of the invention, the live casino game is blackjack, and the separate gaming apparatus comprises a video gaming apparatus with a microprocessor, a random number generator, and a video display.
In the broadest form of the invention, the casino table card game includes an auxiliary, bonus-effecting gaming process and gaming apparatus. The first base casino table card game provides a first gaming segment in which after a player provides at least an initial wager, a predetermined event or events provide an outcome or series of outcomes that are considered to determine if a defining event occurs, such as a predetermined arrangement of cards, predetermined order of cards, predetermined number of consecutive wins or losses, or predetermined combinations of cards in a single hand (e.g., blackjack, same suited blackjack, split aces double blackjack, split tens double blackjack or blackjack and twenty""s, for example) occurs. Upon the occurrence of a defining event, a player carries a predetermined amount from the event that he can carry into a bonus event. The predetermined amount may be the original wager in the base game, the win amount, a portion of the win amount (e.g., the 50% bonus for a blackjack), or a separate wager on the occurrence of the defining event (e.g., a side bet or bonus bet). This predetermined amount is designed so that the player can carry the predetermined amount into a bonus event. Typically, the predetermined amount is a separate bonus bet. The bonus event comprises at least one gaming segment, at least two gaming segments, or a series of at least two related gaming play segments that are substantively different from the base game. The bonus event is a random event controlled and played on a microprocessor (e.g., computer, hardware, software, an independent random number generator, and the like), while the first gaming segment is played with physical cards at a casino table. At least one of the second gaming segments comprises a display of multiple panels, such as frames within one or more video displays (e.g., monitors, screens, panels, etc.) that display symbols, such as multiplication factors. The symbols or factors within each frame change over time, either randomly or in sequence. If the bonus segment of the game is a multiple bonus segment game, different symbols or factors appear within at least some of the frames or certain symbols appear at a different frequency during subsequent bonus segments. At least one highlighting feature, such as increased or decreased light intensity of the frames optionally occurs during the time when the symbols or factors are changing. The random selection may also occur without any highlighting so that their selection has no visual imagery except for the conclusion. A player may activate a stop button to halt both the changing of symbols or factors within a frame and stop the highlighting feature so that at least one frame is highlighted. The highlighted frame presents a multiplication factor or other bonus symbol that is applied to the wager or the amount awarded from the occurrence of the predetermined event in the first play segment. The result of the multiplication of the predetermined amount (e.g., the initial wager, the side bet amount, a bonus win amount or the amount awarded) may then preferably be carried forward into at least one more (and even additional) gaming segment(s) that includes a multiplier.
The first segment of the gaming device of the present invention is a casino table game. The game may be any casino table card game, not only blackjack and the variants of poker specifically or generally references above, but also Casino War(trademark), match card games, Three Card Poker(trademark), bacarrat, and the like. The first segment preferably awards payouts for specific events or wins that occur in the play of the game. Preferably, the occurrence of a minimum number of a single predefined event(s) occurring in the play of the game triggers the bonus event. The predetermined event(s) may or may not be wins in the actual game. The use of scanning technology (electronic recognition of bets, card rank and suit, player identity, and the like) on the table to keep track of events is also very useful in identifying specific events or series of events that are intended to result in triggering a bonus event.